Skip to main content
Datec. 2nd century CE
MediumMarble
DimensionsOverall: 34.3 x 41.9 x 10.2 cm (13 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 4 in.)
Credit LinePurchased with funds donated by D. Roger Howlett, Class of 1966
Object number1986.7.2
On view
DescriptionThis fragment of a sarcophagus, or stone coffin, reflects a period of transition in ancient Mediterranean history. In the second century AD, the Romans adopted coffin burials as an alternative to cremation. The popularity of inhumation resulted in the widespread production of sarcophagi throughout the Roman Empire during the second and third centuries. The most affluent patrons commissioned caskets made of marble, such as this, with intricately carved designs and narrative scenes on their sides. Roman sarcophagi bear strong stylistic resemblances to those produced contemporaneously in neighboring Mediterranean and Middle East regions, most notably in iconography. Similar to those from Greece and Egypt, Roman examples commonly featured mythological scenes and motifs as well as scenes of battles, hunts, and weddings. This fragment features the lower half of a figure–we can see their leg outlined through their drapery–riding in a wheeled vehicle pulled by an animal, whose back legs can be discerned.
Additional Details
Provenance
March 30, 1986: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by purchase at auction from Sotheby's, New York, Sale 5464, Lot 187;
? - March 1986: Sotheby's, New York, on consignment from an unknown dealer.
? - March 1986: Sotheby's, New York, on consignment from an unknown dealer.
Published References
Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, "Acquisitions 1986," FRIENDS OF ART NEWSLETTER, vol. 1, no. 1 (February 1988).
Sotheby's, ANTIQUITIES AND ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART (sale cat. New York, Sotheby's, May 30, 1986), sale 5464, lot 187.
Sotheby's, ANTIQUITIES AND ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART (sale cat. New York, Sotheby's, May 30, 1986), sale 5464, lot 187.
Date: c. 2nd century CE
Medium: Marble
Object number: 1986.7.1
Unknown artist
Date: c. 883-859 BCE
Medium: Gypsum with remnants of red pigment
Object number: 1868.5
Giorgio Ghisi
Date: c. 1540 (printed later)
Medium: Engraving
Object number: 1992.51
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 5 , 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.47
Unknown artist
Date: c. 6th-8th century CE
Medium: Terracotta
Object number: 2015.6.49
Unknown artist
Date: 19th century
Medium: Cast bronze with inlay on marble base
Object number: 2023.10.73
Unknown artist
Date: c. 332-250 BCE
Medium: Terracotta with remnants of pigment
Object number: 1943.20
Unknown artist
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Red clay with black, yellow, red pigment
Object number: 1943.50
Unknown artist
Date: probably first half of 19th century
Medium: Gouache and gold over white ground on paper
Object number: 1986.26